Social Media Addiction Is As Harmful As Alcohol and Drugs

6 days ago

In the world where we all are connected by a common platform, it is quite obvious to get addicted to this platform called social media. Teenagers, adults as well as an old generation have attached itself to the social media for personal as well as professional use. While few of the population uses the platform effectively and knows the importance of the availability of these platforms while rest of the others uses it only as a way of escaping the reality. There is a section of the society especially teenagers and youth who are most active on social media leading to the social media addiction or most commonly referred to as mobile phone addiction.

There might be several reasons for this addiction but one the most prominent reason is increasing distance between the family members and lack of belongingness in the youth. To escape from studies, carrier issues or personal problems people usually take support from this social networking site. The feature of social media such a story sharing and ability to link the whole world has made it possible for everyone to feel free and discuss their issues without even being recognized.

Today, life without social media cannot be imagined. Status sharing, story sharing, random discussions, chats with random people all these things have become a part of the society. It might sound offensive to refer social media as addiction and virtual but is not true? Why do people tend to ignore the problem in the real world and talk about it with the whole world when their identity is hidden? Why do people do not have the courage to fight for wrong things happening in front of them and take out their frustration on their social media page? The answer is simple we have learned the nature of escape.

According to several psychological studies social media blackout has become challenging for people. The social media blackout is a simple task of avoiding one’s social media account just for 24 hours. The task is simple yet it is very difficult to avoid the virtual world we have created around us. The social media anxiety has reached to such a level of disorder that it might be referred to as a serious medical disorder in coming years. Advancement in technology and ease of using the internet at any place through smartphones has worsened the situation. Reduced internet charges and low cost of smartphones has worked smoothly in causing the addiction.

The social media blackout is just a way of letting yourself out of this virtual world and experience the reality. The reality in which people should be free to express themselves as openly as they do in the virtual world. Avoiding gadgets just for 24 hours and spending time with closed ones might not be as challenging as people assume.